1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device, especially a display panel having a conductive layer provided adjacent the display panel to discharge static charges generated in the display panel to ground through the conductive layer.
2. Description of the Background Art
Conventionally, electronic components such as driver circuits, printed circuit boards or connectors are covered with and held by a metal vessel. Further, since electrostatic charges generated in a display panel are discharged to ground through the metal vessel, the vessel also functions to protect the driver circuits or other circuit components from the electrostatic charges.
Recently, to produce a light and compact display panel, it has been proposed to eliminate the vessel and arrange the driver circuits or the circuit boards along a longitudinal direction of the display panel and cover the circuit components or the circuit boards with a protection sheet. The protection sheet is fixed to the display panel by a fixing tape in place of the vessel. Since, the protection sheet and the fixing tape are made of insulating material, the static charges generated in the display panel are easily discharged to the circuit components or the circuit boards, which finally results in destruction of the circuit components or the circuit boards.
Then, a new display device has been proposed as shown in Japanese patent application No. 2006-236870. In this patent application, the driver circuits are connected to a ground terminal (GND) by a conductive tape. Therefore, it is possible to discharge the static charges generated in the display panel to the ground terminal through the conductive tape prior to flow to the driver circuits. However, since the conductive tape contacts with the driver circuit, the static charges may flow to the driver circuits, which results in malfunction or damage to the driver circuits.